Brusly cruises past E.D. White 43-7

Panthers climb to No. 7 in LSWA Class 3A polls

THIBODAUX — Brusly headed to E.D. White with no shortage of motivating factors.

Last week, BHS came out on the short end of a 13-12 contest at Livonia.

An, oh yes, it was the District 7-3A opener. Both factors helped the Panthers coast past the Cardinals 43-7 at Yockey Bernard Field at Harvey Peltier Stadium.

The Panthers climbed to No. 7 in the Louisiana Sportswriters Association Class 3A Top 10 poll.

The win marked the fifth of six games in which the Panthers have accumulated more than 30 points in a game and third in which BHS chalked more than 40 points.

The Panthers have outscored opponents 239-84 since the start of the season.

“This was our best game of the season,” Brusly head coach Erik Willis said. “We challenged them to go on the road and do their best, especially after a tough loss the week before. The road itself can go against you.”

It didn’t happen that way Friday.

Panther senior quarterback Jay Christophe passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more to power Brusly, which improved to 5-1 for the season.

“It was Jay’s best game this year,” Willis said. “He’s had as much yardage on passing and running, but he was sharp and controlled the game as well as he ever did.”

Brusly’s scoring attack began midway in the first quarter when Christophe broke loose on a 13-yard touchdown dash that capped a 55-yard, nine-play drive.

Blake Manola made the point-after kick to give the Panthers a 7-0 advantage.

Christophe then put his passing skills to work when he connected with Donald Williams for a 12-yard TD. Manola – who came through on all five PATs – gave the Panthers a 14-0 lead midway in the second quarter.

The Cardinals cut into the Panther lead when Dannon Steib took quarterback Benton Arceneaux’s handoff 76 yards for a TD less than a minute after the Panthers scored. Rene Thibodeaux punched in the PAT for a 14-7 score.

Just before the second half, a Cardinal punt put the Panthers at midfield, which allowed Christophe to hit Patrick Crawford for a 51-yard TD pass. After a penalty on the kick put the Panthers at the 2, Darien Cobbs came through for a two-point conversion that gave BHS a 22-7 halftime lead.

E.D. White appeared ready to dig itself from the deficit when the Cards marched the ball to midfield on Arceneaux’s 30-yard keep. But a Dillon Pierce fumble on the next play gave the Panthers possession at the 49.

It set the stage for the next TD, which Christophe scored nine plays later to give the Panthers a 29-7 lead at the 7:06 mark in the third.

Brusly pulled the game further out of Cardinal reach in the fourth quarter. Terrance West scored on a 9-yard TD run for a 36-7 lead with 10:05 remaining.

Carsel Alexander posted the final Panther score of the game on a 23-yard TD sprint.